Conroy Hockey Programs Practice Rules

HOW TO PRACTISE BETTER (PRACTISE RULES) for COACH CONROY

Practises are critical to your success. Learning to practise BETTER is critical to your success. Please learn and APPLY these rules in practise, EVERY practise.

I will have 0 tolerance for anyone forgetting the rules. These are not suggestions or guidelines, they are rules. Please learn them now!

Doing the following will improve your practises 100% add to this my expected intensity level and we have SUPER PRACTISES. SUPER practises create SUPER players.

Your compliance is REQUIRED and expected.

The things listed here make you a better HOCKEY PLAYER and a better kid.

  1. B e Ready for practise, be rested, be fed, have water, name on your helmet and have a READY MIND.

      1. Stretch & warm up on your own BEFORE practise we will not spend time on your stretching on the ice.Try 100% of the time, failure and mistakes are OK, not trying is NOT!
      2. Practise EXACTLY what I teach you, not your version of it! Do it until you get it right.
      3. Get a partner that pushes you!
      4. Do NOT shoot pucks against the boards unless it is a part of the drill (and it won’t be) I HATE THIS USELESS NOISE.
      5. If you need pucks for a drill, GET THEM, I am not your mom, YOU help me to help you!
      6. At the end of practise EVERYONE picks up pucks, no one leaves the ice until the pucks are picked up.

  2. BE READY for the drill and your turn, no useless chatting, no being distracted. Watch others, be ready, have a puck, don’t delay and don’t wait for me to say GO! You are big boys now you have attended hundreds of practises, THINK on your OWN.

    1. When I say drink and rest, drink and rest and refocus don’t wander around, don’t shoot pucks instead HELP COACHES, ask COACHES, be a support to us NOT a PAIN.

  3. Warm up the goalies, no high shots, no dekes. Once they are warmed up then BEAT THEM with every shot. Goalies educate the shooters help them to be better!!!! Tell them what they are doing wrong.

    1. Goalies will warm up in the first 10 minutes then they will skate.
    2. Goalies will spend time handling the puck.
    3. Goalies will rotate (I am hoping for 3 goalies)
    4. Goalies will rest as needed in a SAFE location.

  4. COMMUNICATE during the drills this is such a critical and important part of every hockey shift that you take. LEARN to communicate in practise NOW. Any 2 man or more drill COMMUNICATE! Practise game play all of the time.

  5. FAKE FAKE FAKE I want you to be FAKING in EVERY drill, puck or no Puck EVERY drill. FAKING needs to become a habit and 2nd nature. No FAKE = 10 pushups. After 4 weeks No FAKE = 15 pushups, 8 weeks = 20 pushups and so on.

    1. If you are slow, FAKE.
    2. If you are fast, FAKE.
    3. FAKE a shot.
    4. FAKE a pass.
    5. FAKE losing the puck.
    6. If you are the best shooter in the world FAKE a pass.
    7. When you are backchecking FAKE.
    8. When you are attacking FAKE.
    9. FAKE running the goalie. (Be a Brad)
    10. FAKE a body check.
    11. FAKE a pass and shoot or deke.
    12. FAKE a move without the puck to get open.
    13. FAKE a shift change.
    14. FAKE EVERYTHING.

    15. Learning to FAKE is a HUGE asset that takes 0 natural talent it is developed by practising.

  6. ANTICIPATION The ability to anticipate is a HUGE skill, in every battle drill or scrimmage learn to anticipate what WILL HAPPEN.

      1. Great players know that positioning is about the NEXT play.
        1. Where are they going?
        2. Will they pass? Can he pass?
        3. Does he have a shot?
      2. Watch the plays, the drills and think about what could or should happen then when its your turn DEFEND against that. THINK BOYS THINK, THINK THINK.
      3. Weak players will only use their forehand to pass.
      4. Weak players will put their heads down.
      5. Weak players are scared of physical play.
      6. Weak players will dump or turnover the puck.
      7. FORCE outcomes that will benefit your team.

  7. MINDSET, pretend every drill is a game, TRY 100% on EVERYTHING 100% of the time.

    1. Think how does this drill translate to a game?
    2. Think how can I do this better?
    3. Think how can I be more creative? Add more Fakes?

  8. BATTLE 100% of the time, be AGGRESSIVE, BATTLE but don’t cause injuries. Again, pretend its real, don’t lose, don’t quit, learn to BATTLE.

  9. Do not PUCK GAZE! Looking at the puck achieves NOTHING EVER. It tells you NOTHING. Prevents you from ANTICIPATING. Have your head UP and on a swivel. See what is happening around the puck and what COULD/WILL happen. Where is the puck going to be? Where should you BE?

Watch the others and start to PREDICT what will happen. Hockey players and hockey plays are mostly predictable. So, THINK.

Puck Gazing = pushups. Don’t look at the puck!

  1. HEAD UP & on a SWIVEL. This allows you to ANTICIPATE better. This is the opposite of Puck Gazing.

    1. Your head on a swivle means you can see and anticipate the play.
    2. It means you will be in better position, it means you can transition better, intercept passes, make better passes, etc. etc. etc.
    3. It also allows you to never hit coach or another player with a shot in proactice. Don’t shoot unless its clear and the goalie is READY.

  • 11. ABT! ALWAYS BE TOUCHING. Always touch, interfere, slow down, push, pull, PISS OFF the enemy. CHEAT!

    1. Part of this is having one hand on the stick so you can use your other hand to interfere, and you have greater reach, greater mobility and you skate faster. ONE HAND ON YOUR STICK 90% of the TIME!
    2. Having 2 hands on your stick will result in push-ups same as no fake. It frustrates me to see this.
    3. Be a Brad Marchand!!

  • 12. Be CREATIVE, its PRACTISE, try new things, experiment, its practise. This is where we PRACTISE and learn new skills.

    1. Mistakes in practice don’t matter. Learn Learn Learn start slow go faster.
    2. But always work hard.

  • 13. Practise and work on what you are not good at when you have free time (you won’t have much)

    1. NO “Minnesota’s” You have 67 more important things to practise.

  • 14. Start SLOW and focus on getting the moves right once you have it go QUICKER and QUICKER. Don’t worry about mistakes or failures.

    1. At each higher level the game gets FASTER and smarter.

  • 15. LISTEN! When I blow the whistle, you STOP and LISTEN. Focus on me, listen for the whistles.

    1. Do NOT shoot pucks unless it’s a puck shooting drill. I HATE the noise and distraction of useless, unrelated shots.


    2. When you shoot SHOOT TO SCORE everywhere time.

  • 16. There are 3 ways to Learn:

    1. LISTEN
    2. WATCH OTHERS
      1. If you don’t know do NOT be first in line.
    3. PRACTISE, PRACTISE, PRACTISE.

  • 17. SHOOT hard and LOW and HIT the NET EVERY time.

    1. As you get older you score more and more on rebounds & shot/passes.
    2. Do NOT waste a single shot make EVERY shot count. Practise what you are weak at. Try never let go of a weak shot.

  • 18. Buy skate weights 1 lb.
      https://www.amazon.ca/PowerSk8r-Hockey-Training-Weights-Silver/dp/B00HEPR2OG/ref=asc_df_B00HEPR2OG/?tag=googleshopc0c-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=292982322143&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1705084060673684384&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9001309&hvtargid=pla-566893728616&th=1&psc=1

    1. Wear them every practise.

  • 19. HELP each other, all of the time, better players teach lesser players, keep everyone pumped up and focused, GO TEAM!

  • 20. Watch videos on You Tube and Instagram about hockey moves and drills. Learn fakes, learn magic, be creative! NO MINNESOTAS.

  • 21. LOVE YOUR PRACTICES!

 
 
 
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Contact me any time to talk hockey.

Coach Conroy
www.conroyhockey.com
587-888-1097.